This invention relates to an electronic display device in which numerals for date display are partly disposed in the spaces defined by segments forming numerals for time display.
Digital timepieces for digitally displaying time by using a liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting display (LED) and the like are on the verge of superseding conventional mechanical drive timepieces. The digital timepiece is constructed by using a quartz crystal oscillator, an electronic time counting circuit and the like. Accordingly, the counting accuracy is high and date data such as days, weeks and months may readily be counted in addition to time data such as hours, minutes, and seconds. This enables it to digitally display the days, weeks and months. For example, in the case of wristwatches, the date data is frequently displayed through switching from the time data display, since its display space is restrictively small. Business usage often demands the date covering a necessary time range, in order to make a schedule or confirm the specified past date. In the above-mentioned calendar system, the year and month determine the corresponding day and its day of the week. A substitutional calendar system is possible in which numerals 1 to 31 for one month days are arranged in a matrix like fashion with rows and columns. The columns are arranged corresponding to the days of a week and one specified column is disposed aligned with Sunday. If the calendar system is embodied by using electronic technology, we can instantly seen any desired date.
However, if the date data must additionally be displayed on the same display space as that for the time data, the display space must be expanded. This is unfavorable for a device with narrow display space such as a wristwatch.
For this, a metal plate on which the date data is printed is attached to a wristwatch band. This method, however, is defective in that the work of attaching the metal plate is troublesome and the metal plate attached is a nuisance and unattractive. Further, if the metal plate is unobtainable, users are inconvenienced.
In the field of electronic desk top type calculators, thin and small-sized calculators have appeared recently and prevalently sold in the market. Such type calculators often need the ordinary calculating function and the time counting functions such as time and date counting functions, stopwatch function, alarm function, and timer function, as well. As a matter of course, if such type of calculator has a calendar function like a timepiece, it is very convenient for users.
In summary, it is very difficult to doubly display the calendar data on the same display space as that the time data display, in the electronic devices needing a digital display of the data and time data and the calculating data, but having a restricted narrow display space.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an electronic display device in which the calendar data as well as the time data is effectively arranged in a common display space.